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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a garment for use when a medical monitor must be carried or worn by a human patient. More particularly the present invention relates to a halter-type garment with shoulder straps and a pouch that can be worn in the front or rear of the patient for storing a medical appliance; and having a grommet opening through which leads are passed to the patient""s body.
2. Description of Related Art
There is occasional need for a patient to carry with him/her a portable medical monitor or other medical appliance. Because such a device is extraneous to the body, there is a possibility of inconvenience, discomfort, and/or irritation associated with the carrying of such a device.
Devices that may need carried with a patient include heart, gastric, or sleep apnea monitors, and medication injectors (either an infusion pump or another intravenous injector). Such devices are made as small and light as possible, and enjoy continuous improvement with regard to these aspects, yet still represent an object the body is not made to carry with it.
A medical vest for carrying a medical monitor is disclosed by Johnsrud in U.S. Pat. No. 5,708,978. The vest extends to the lower chest region and is split in the front for ease of putting on and taking off. The straps are permanently affixed to the vest at the front and back, making removal of the halter difficult in the case of a patient having limited mobility in his/her arms and shouldersxe2x80x94or of the patient is incapacitated. The pocket or pouch in which the medical monitor is inserted hangs from the lower edge of the vest. The pocket is sewn to the vest along the pocket""s upper edge, and hangs down from the vest""s lower edge in a loose manner for free sliding movement relative to the body of the wearer.
A garment, similar to the above, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,668 by Gros, et al. This garment is also split in the front for putting on and taking off. The straps are attached to the front of the garment by hook and loop material for extra ease in removing or putting on the garment. The straps do not cross. Along the lower edge of the garment is a hem of exposed hook and loop material upon which various pockets or bags may be attached. Attaching a medical appliance to the garment via hook and loop material would prove troublesome due to the continuous possibility of the pouch falling off and the discomfort of a loose pouch. The manufacturability of this garment is more difficult than some.
There is, therefore, a need for a simple garment that is easily manufactured for comfortably and securely affixing a medical monitor. There is a further need for a garment that is easy to put on and take off, even if the patient lacks mobility or is incapacitated.
A purpose of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for carrying a medical apparatus on the person of a patient. Additional purposes are to provide a garment that is simple to manufacture, and can be put on and taken off a patient, even if the patient lacks mobility or is incapacitated.
The garment comprises a cloth portion, rectangular or similarly shaped, fitted to the chest or back of the patient and providing backing for a pouch into which a medical appliance and its wires and/or tubes are inserted; also two shoulder straps extending from the top corners of the rectangular portion that have provision for attachment with hook and loop fasteners, straps, ties, buttons or the like at their far ends. The two shoulder straps attach to the lower corners of the rectangular portion for a garment made for children. An adult version of the garment additionally comprises a back strap, made with loop material along its length for connection using hook and loop material. This back strap attaches to the bottom corners of the rectangular portion using hook and loop fastener, and the two shoulder straps attach to the back strap, also using hook and loop fastener material. The two shoulder straps usually cross on the side of the patient opposite the rectangular portion. The rectangular portion is fitted with a grommet through it such that it makes an access between the pouch and the patient for wires, tubes, etc. The pouch is sized adequately so excess lead or tube length can be carried within the pouch, thereby avoiding tangling. The xe2x80x9crectangularxe2x80x9d portion may also be circular, oval, or any other suitable shape.
The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention, both as to its organization and method of operation together with further objectives and advantages thereto, will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which a presently preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.